Even Lyric Lounge Review’s Metal editor doesn’t mind chilling out to some more relaxing stuff now and again, and with a long night of shouty rock n roll ahead; JENNY O was a perfect way to ease into the afternoon. The solo singer and guitarist appeared somewhat swamped by the large Quarry Stage at first but soon had the audience captivated with her soulful but sometimes quite funky songs. As she alternated between the electric and acoustic guitars she also alternated between gospel/vocal dominated tracks through to more pop/rock tunes. One enthusiastic crowd member must have felt sorry for her not having a drummer and decided to join in on tambourine. Jenny O politely refers to a David Crosby live album where he had to stop the audience clapping as they couldn’t hold a beat. The random percussionist got the message.

IN FLIGHT PROGRAM were a different kettle of fish. Big Burly rockers who look as though they would rip your face off. Only the music displays any danger of face ripping though, as the band turn out to be quite a jolly bunch and look genuinely happy to be playing to “more than one bloke and a dog”. New track ‘An Open Letter‘ is aired alongside ‘Premiers’ which display shouty punk with the ability to hold a tune when they need to. It’s always nice to find a decent band by accident!

WITHOUT MAPS were also thrashing out some punky tunes. These guys played an energetic set, full of bouncy punk tunes and some chaotic guitar breakdowns. The skinny punksters immediately bring At the Drive in to mind, which can never be a bad thing…

Alt-Rockers TALL SHIPS were one of the less abrasive rock bands to hit the Big Squid stage. Frontman Ric looks a bit like Kurt Cobain, and although he too sings and plays guitar for his band; Tall Ships have more knob-twiddling tendencies than the Nirvana style guitar smashing. An average Tall Ships song contains around five instruments, so they do well as a three-piece to keep the tempo up and deliver a smooth set. Most of the set canters along at a steady pace. The band increase the knots for a final hurrah as the set culminates in an explosion of guitars and lights to finish off an enjoyable show.

BASTILLE play an easy-going electronic dominated set. They’re just starting to get regular play on the radio at the moment, and songs like ‘Flaws’ are certainly catchy radio friendly numbers. The Quarry stage is pretty full too as lots of people pour in from the main stage to catch the band’s short set. Singer Dan Smith roams around the stage lost in his songs , occasionally joining in with drumming duties as the rest of the band interchange guitars for keyboards at regular rotation. A perfect soundtrack to a summers afternoon, especially when it includes a chilled out cover of Corona’s ‘Rhythm of the Night’.

TURBOWOLF look like their in a Russell Brand tribute act until they start to play their up-tempo rock and roll. Frontman Chris, dressed in the most flowery shirt of the weekend, commands the audience attention from the off. “Are you ready to Rock’n’Roll” are his first words and the crowd oblige. By the halfway stage of the set the crowd regularly broke into a TUR-BO-WOLF chant and you got the feeling that the packed out tent had quite a few new converts to the band. It is hard not to get into a band as energetic and charismatic as Turbowolf and although the sound got a bit muddy in places, it was on the whole a great performance. ‘A Rose For The Crows’ especially demonstrates how the band can be heavy, fun and make you dance all at the same time. The band end on an extended version of recent single ‘Let’s Die’ and exit the stage to near hysteria from the crowd. It’s a fair bet that not everyone knew who Turbowolf were when they came into the tent to shelter from the rain during their set. They do now.

THE WOMBATS had the job of headlining the main stage on the Saturday night. They played a very relaxed set with very little fanfare, regularly stopping to just chat and tell jokes with the crowd. The band seem totally unfazed by playing to such a large crowd and seem believable when they say they could play all night if they were allowed. To the casual observer (me) it is quite surprising just how many Wombats tunes have crept into your mind over the years without you realising. Songs like ‘Moving to New York’, ‘Techno Fan’, and the upbeat ‘Kill the Director’ were all instantly recognisable to me and I could even sing along to most of the set list. The band come back for just one encore, despite stating they were going to play all night, to air the ultra infectious  ‘Lets Dance to Joy Division’ to seal a fantastic headline slot.

Rob W